Multiple gyro ship stabilizer



Oct. 27, 1925- E. A. SPERRY MULTIPLE GYRO SHIP STABILIZER Original Filed Match 31, 1917 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 MIND! lllllllI/IIIIIIIlllIIIll/IIImil/III Lira 6 E: I62 7 M 69 INVIYZNTOR [1/757 A5P57/7).

Oct. 27, 1925. 1,558,514

E. A. SPERRY MULTIPLE GYRO SHIP STABILIZER Original Filed March 31, 1917' 2 Sfieets-Shae'g 2 INVENTOR Patented Oct. .27, 19 25.

' UNITED STATES Emma n. army, or nnooxmm, mrw ironx.

MULTIPLE GYBO SHIP STABILIZED.

Application filed larch a1, 1911, serial-no. 15am. nenew'ea January 5, 102:.

To all whom it may conaem:

Be it known that I. Emma A. Srnanx, a citizen of the 'United States of America, residing at 1505 Albemarle Road, Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Multiple Gyro Ship Stabilizers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to stabilizinaggroscopes for ships and other oscillatory ies.

The invention has particular application to .the so-called active type of gyroscope for such purpose; that is, a-gyroscope in which the precession is governed in accordance with the period of the ship. Such gyroscopes, asis now well known, are preferably electrically driven as are also the precession engines or motors for governing the precession.

One of the principal objects of the invention is to efiect a saving in the motive power and to effect a reduction in the size of the generating plant required to supply the electricity for driving the rotors and the precession engine. I v

Another object of the invention is to improve the efliciency of the precession gear.

Still another object is related toja gyroscopic stabilizing plant in which a plurality of isolated stabilizing units are employed, the object of the inventionbein to s chronize the operation of such umts an .at the same time to control them from one or more controlling or auxiliary gyroscopes.

This invention also has application to stabilizing devices for ships of other than a gyroscopic character, since in all such types, the problem of'accelerating and decelerating a moving mass during the comparatively short rolling cycle of the ship is an important one.

Referring to the drawings in which, what I now consider to be the preferred form of my invention, is shown:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a set of stabiliz ing gyroscopes, the upper support being cut away for the sake of clearness.

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of a portion of Fi 1 being approximately that portion inclu ed byline 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the auxiliaryor controlling gyroscopes which are very much smaller and which govern theaprecession of the larger gyroscopes.

Fig. l is an end view'thereof.

a maximum 1n a short while.

the generator 5 as a motor in case the Fig. 5 is a wiring diagram illustrating the electrical features of the invention.

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic layout of the apparatus, showing in addition to the gyroscopes a turbo-generator set.

As above stated, the stabilizing scopes 1 and 2 are preferably electrically driven, being illustrated in the diagram as polypha'se induction motors 3 and 4.- driven from a generator 5. The gyroscopes are shown as mounted upon a horizontal spinmng axis 6, 6' for precession about vertical axes 7, 8 and are geared together for opposite precession by gears ;10 and 10.

The rotors are preferably oppositel driven.

The precession engine is represente as comprising an electric motor 9 which drives through a worm 100 on the motor shaft, worm wheel 11. Pinion 12 on the shaft of said worm wheel meshes with the'large. gear 10. The action of the motor is governed from the auxiliary gyroscope or rosco s 13 or 14 in a manner which Willa rea ily understood by those skilled in the art. The motor is in turn driven at full speed in one direction, stopped and driven atfull speed in the opposite direction and also. driven at somewhat lower speeds, all during each com- .plete cycle of the ships roll. 'It will be seen, therefore, that theelectrical requirements of the motor fluctuate widely during each cycle, varying repeatedly from zero to x v Such. a load if; placed directly on the ships main circuit represented sit-15 in Fig. 5 would probably cause serious fluctuations. Or, if the motor 9 were supplied-from the same independent source that the generator 5 is supplied from, such as steam turbine 16 the regulation of the set would be very difficult andits capacity would have to be made much larger than normal requirements would dictate.

To overcome these difliculties I drive motor 9 by the same turbine 16 that nerator 5 is drlven by, providin preferab y a separate enerator 17 there or, and in addition I so' esign the induction motors of the gyroscopes and thenerator 5 that the induction motors wil act as generators to drivs e of the generator falls below a predetermined.

amount. To accomplish this end generator a. ternator 5 is preferably of the inductor type, and ma have the field 150 thereof separately excited from the ship supp y, It

will readily be appreciated that the kinetic energy of the very heavy gyroscopic rotors is extremely great, in fact so great that their action as generators for a short period does not affect their speed materially. It will readily be seen that with a plant so designe whenever motor!) requires an extra heavy current the extra load on dynamo 17 will not have to be borne entirely by turbine 16 but that the generator 5, acting as a motor, will then assist the turbine in driving the motor whenever the peak load occurs. Generators 5 and 17 may of course be constructed as one machine, if desired. In order that this regenerative action may be made use of to its fullest extent, I prefer not to equip the turbine with a highly sensitive speed regulator but to provide a regulator 20- which allows a'considerable variation in speed and is normally only used to prevent the turbine from running away. The motor 9 and generator 17 are preferably of the direct current type, the armatures 21 and 22 being directly connected while the fields 25 and 24 are separately excited preferably from the ships .supply.'

0n account of the very heavy currents and the necessity for reversing the current flow between the two armatures, I prefer not to attempt to handle the armature current directly, but to control a reversible motor 9 by reversing the field of the generator 17. By this means the amount of current that must be handled at the make and break switches is very eatly reduced. 'The said switches are pre erably actuated by one of the auxiliary gyroscopes 13 or 14 above referred to. The said gyroscopes are shown as mounted for precession about vertical axes 101 and 102 within rings 103, the rotors being enclosed within casing 104. Two gyroscopes may be employed, so that in case one should break down, the other would be ready for immediate use. To change from one to the other, all that need be done is to throw switch 31. Each gyroscope is centralizedbyspring pressed stops 105.

YVhen the ship rolls in one direction or the other immediate precession of the control gyro 13 (say) occurs which-will move 4 the contact arm 122 into contact with one or the other sets of relatively stationary contacts 23 or 24 depending upon the direction of the roll. Contact of switch 122 with point 23 will send current through the field coil 124 on generator 17 while contact of 122 with 24 will send current through the oppositely wound field coil 25. The contacts 23 and 24 preferably consist of a number of contact points so connected that the amount of current flowing through the field will be increased as the auxiliary gyroscope precesses farther from its centralized position. To this end lower contact points 23' are shown as spaced a farther distance from switch 22 than the upper contact points and a resistance 26 is shown as interposed between the lower point and the upper points. It will readily be seen that the resistance is gradually cut out as the gyroscope swings from its central position.

I also'prefer to place in said field circuit a. circuit breaking switch 28 which is connected so as to be open when the stabilizing gyroscopes have reached a predetermined limit of'precession. For this purpose said switch 28 is shown as operated by an electro magnetic means 29 in circuit with limit switches 30 and 130 on one of the stabilizing gyroscopes. A similar switch 28 is in circuit with the opposite limit contact 30' and 130 on said gyroscope.

A reversing switch 120 may be placed between the control gyroscopes and the motor fields so that the gyroscopes may be used to roll the ship, if desired, as will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art.

I also prefer to control the speed of the precession engine as well as its direction, by means which will vary the speed according to the osition of the gyroscope in its cycle of oscillation. For this purpose I have shown a field rheostat 32 in series with the field24' of motor 9 which is automatically operated by a mechanism hereinafter described.

I have found that gyroscopes of this character, especially where more than one stabilizing plane is employed, may get slightly out of phase with the ship; or in other words, that they may assume a normal position in which the spinning axes are at an angle to each other. For this and other reasons I found it desirable to cause precession of the gyroscopes at a greater rate when they are approaching their normal position than when they are recedingfrom it. To this end I may provide a cam 40 or the like which is connected to the gyroscope as by means of gear 41 meshing with gear 11. Engaging the cam is a roller 42 mounted on an arm 43. Said arm may serve as the arm of rheostat' in series with the field and is designed to weaken the field when the gyroscope is approaching the central position. Means are provided to cause the relative axial displacement of the can] and roller at or near the limits of motion of the gyroscope in each direction so that the speed of the motor may be different when approaching and leaving said reversing points. For this urpose I may provide one or more solenoids 44 and 45 connected with the limit switches 30 and 30' above referred to or to similar switches.

The core 46 of said solenoids is shown as pivoted to rocker arm 47 which engages a groove 48 in an extension 49 of the cam 40, so that the cam may be raised and lowered alternat lyas the gyroscope strikes the stop switches. The cam is shown as provided with two eccentric surfaces 50 and 51 upon one or the other of which the roller is adapted to roll. It will, of course, be understood that the apparatus may be so adjusted' that, the roller may roll upon intermediate portions of the cam if desired,so

' that a maximum torque may be secured at that time. Saidswitch is shown as controlled by electro-magnetic means 53 connected directly across the armature circuit and designed to overcome the tension of the spring when the current supplied to the armature exceeds a predetermined amount.

The operation of this portion of the mechanism is as follows: Assuming that the gyroscopes and cam are in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2 with the gyroscopes approaching the central position so that the roduce the maximum motor speed is place in the field circuit; as the gyroscopes pass be 0nd the said'position, cam 50 will be rotate and its higher portion brought under the roller thereby rotating arm 43 to rapidly cut out the said resistance and reduce the motor speed. As the gyroscope reaches the limit of precessional movement the contact 130- 30 is made thus cutting out motor 9 and at H the same time completing the circuit through the solenoid 44. This will move the roller on to the upper end 51 of the cam which it will be remembered is turned to thelow portion. As the ship starts to roll back the motor 9 will be driven in the opposite direction, and the cam rotated back to and beyond its original position.

The cam is so designed that the roller will remam on a comparatively concentric ortionwhile the gyroscopes are ap'proac ing their centralized position, but'as soon as the gyrosco es get beyond said position the roller will e rapidly raised to a high portion of the cam.

As'above stated, I prefer to employ a plurality of stabilizing sets, A and B, of similar construction. Either or both sets may be operated at will by simply throwing the three point switch 101 shown as placed in the armature circuits. Increased efficiency of operation is secured by the use of more than one stabilizin unit, not only by distributing the stabi izing forces exerted by the gyroscope, but by increased efficiency,

when it is not desired or necessary to employ the maximum capacity of the plant. It

is a well known axiom of machinery that any'machine is ineflicient if operating considerably below its normal capacity. In-

stead of having to-produce more 'gy roscopic efiect than desired, or, in the alternative slowing down the plant to one half speed, one complete unit ma be cut out entirely and the other operate under normal conditions. If desired, separate turbo-generating sets may be employed for the individual stabilizing units.

In order to further assist in synchronizing the precessional oscillation of the gyroscopes with the rolling of the ship and with eachother I{ also prefer-to rovide a means for altering the synchronize position of the auxiliary or controlv contacts 23 and 24 thereon. For altering the synchronized position of the gyroscope with respect to the contacts I prefer to in some manner shift the contacts by the precessionalmovements of the main gyros. The broad application of thisv portion of my invention is not claimed herein but is reserved for my copending application, Serial No. 185,718, filed August 11, 1917, for stabilizing gyroscopes. In the form of the invention shown herein gyroscopes 13 and '14 are e nippedwith a follow-up system connecting t e stabilizing gyroscopes with the contacts on the control gyroscopes. For this urpose flexi ble-members57 and 58 are siown as connected with the main gyroscopes so as to be moved thereby. At their other ends the said membe'rs are connected to a slidable carriage 59 which in turn is'connected to a movable member 60 which carries the contacts 23, 23', and 24 above referred 'to. It will be' seen that as the stabilizing gyroscopes precess, contacts 23 or 24 will be. moved away fromthe switch 122 so that the auxiliary gyroscope must be processed farther in order to maintain the contact. By 7 this means the extent of the precession of the stabilizing gyroscopes is somewhat limited and the system maintained-in a highly sensitive state.

Carriage 59 is preferably ,provided with a lever 61 pivoted at'62. On either side of the pivot the cords 57 and 58 are connected The lever 60 is designedto serve as the-rotatable arm-of rheostat 162. It will readily A and B precess at the same rate an in the same phase relation that the said lever 61 -will not be rotated But if one gyroscope be seen that so long as the gyrosco ic sets In Fig. 5 the rheostat' is. shown as conif arm 61'is rotated upwardly in Fig. 5 that the E. M. F.- on motor 9 will be increased andthat of motor 9 decreased since'the former will have the resistance in circuit there with reduced while the latter .will have it.

increased. By this or equivalent means the various stabilizing units are synchronized.

The operation of my invention in brief is as follows:

Let us assume that the ship has reached the limit'of roll in one direction and is on the point of starting on the return roll. The main gyroscopes will then be at or near their maximum angle to one-another. Atthe point of reversal of the roll auxiliary gyroscope 13 will precess rapidly away from contact 23, for instance, into engagement with contact 24. This will immediately send a current through the field 25 of 'dynamo 17 in a reverse dlrection to the current flowing immediately-prior thereto. This will cause motor 9 to apply a powerful torque on the gyroscopes since switch 52 will then be closed asexplained above. As soon as the motor picks up speed, switch 52 opens. At this time the maximum resistance is in circuit with the field so that motor 9 will be driven at full speed. As the gyroscope passes throu h its central position the resistance in t e field will gradually. be cut out by means of cam 40 as explained, and motor 9 sloweddown. This retardation of motor 9 has a very important efiect in bran-- ing the precession of the gyroscopes since the motor 9 is so designed that during this time it will tend to operate at a slower speed than the normal rate of precession of the gyroscopes. "At such speed the worm 100 will exert a powerful braking effect on the gyroscopes. As the said gyroscope approaches the limit of precession, the contact 30 or 30' is made, cutting out motor 9 entirely, and reversing the action of the cam 40 as explained. At the same time the gyroscopes may, if desired, be braked by other means. If both sets of gyroscopes A and B are operated and one set should fall out of phase with the other set, the rheostat 162 would be brought into operation to equalize'the relative speeds of precession, as explained.

Instead of connecting the gyroscopes to operate in unison, as described, I may so arrange them as to operate in succession, one gyroscope being arranged to be brought intoaction as the other one strikes a switch at a predetermined point in the cycle of operation. By this means a more uniform torque opposed to the rolling of the ship would be exerted, and the eriod of effective operation lengthened. his is important under certain conditions of roll where the ship is rolling in a period longer than its normal period. This occurs especially when the waves are following the ship on the quarter. To accomplish this purpose, I may place in the armaturecircuit of motor 9' a hand operated switch 200 and an electro-magnetic switch 201. The switch 201 is normally held open by a spring, but is closed when a' contact sector 203 on the shaft of cam 40 is turned through a predetermined are so as to bring the conducting portions under the brush204. Said bush and sector are in circuit with electro-mag'net 202 which operates the switch. So long as hand switch 200;, is closed the action of the gyroscopes will be synchronous, as explained, but when this switch is open, their action will become successive.

Preferably said sector and brush are so located as to bring into action gyroscopes B an appreciable time before gyroscopes A strike the limit switch, so thatduring the period of maximum velocity of roll the two sets .will be acting together. It should be understood that so long as motor 9' is not energized, the worm gear construction locks the gyroscopes so that no gyroscopic reaction occurs, while as soon as the motor is energized, the gyroscope is, in efiect unlocked.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, I have herein described the principle of operation of my invention, together with the apparatus, which I now consider to represent the best embodiment thereof, but I desire to have it understood that the apparatus shown is only illustrative and that the invention can be carried out by other means. Also, while it is designed to use the various features and elements in the combination and relations described,

some of these may be altered and others.

omitted without interfering with the more general results outlined, and the invention extends to such use.

Having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1s:

1. In a gyroscopic system, the combination with a gyroscopic rotor, an electric motor for rotating the same, a dynamo for driving said motor, a control motor for said gyroscope, a dynamo therefor, a common power, source for said dynamos, said first motor and dynamo being adapted for regenerative action, whereby the rotor of the roscope assists the power source to drive t e second dynamo during the peak loads on said second d amo.

2. he combination with a gyroscopic rotor, of an electric motor for driving the same, an electro-magnetic precession engine for said gyroscope, a dynamo-electric apparatus for driving said motor and said engine, the gyroscopic motor being adapted for assisting said apparatus to drive said engine on a reduction in the speed of rotation of said apparatus.

3. In roscopic stabilizing apparatus, the combination with a gvroscoge, means for accelerating and retarding t e recession thereof, and means controlled y the gyroscope itself for causing said means 0 cause or permit precession at, varying speeds at different points in the cycle of precession dependent upon the direction of prec'ess'ion.

4. In gyroscopic stabilizing apparatus, the combination. with a roscope, means for controlling the :precess1on thereof, and means for varyingthe speed of precession responsive to the passing of the gyroscope through a predetermined point in the precessional cycle in one direction as compared to the speed of precession in 'the return direction.

5. In gyroscopic stabilizing apparatus, the combination with a roscope, means for controlling the precession thereof, and mean, for decreasing the rate of precession as the gyroscope passes through its normal positio 6. In roscopic stabilizing apparatus, the combination with a gyroscope, means for controlling the precession thereof, and.

means for increasing the rate of precession as the gyroscope approaches its normal position.

7. In gyroscopic stabilizingapparatus, the combination with a roscope, means for controlling the precession thereof, and means for increasing the rate of precession as the gyroscope approaches, its normal po sition, and for decreasing said rate as it recedes from said position.

8. In stabilizing apparatus for ships, the combination with a plurality of stabilizing units, and means for synchronizing their operation when more than one are being operated. v

9. In stabilizing ap aratus for ships, the

combination with a p uralityof stabilizing units, means whereby either or both of said; units may be operated, and means for syn-' chronizing their operation when more tha one arebeing operated. a

10. In a stabilizing lant, thecombination with a plurality'o gyroscopes, a plu rality of means for-controlling the gyroscopes, a governor for governin said means, and means interconnecting t e s'everal first mentioned means for maintaining the gyroscopes in synchronism.

11. In a stabilizing lant, the combination with a plurality o gyroscopes, a plurality of means for controlling the gyroscopes, and means responsive to the relative rate ofrecession of the gyroscopes for maintaining equal rates.

12. In ship stabilizing apparatus, the combination with the main and a control gyroscope, of a precession motor for the former, a generator, both .said motor-and gen erator haying separately excited fields and means under .the .control of said control gyroscope for exciting, killing or reversing the field of said generator.

13,. In ship stabilizing apparatus, the combination with the main and a control gyroscope, of a precession motor for the former, a generator, both said motor and generator having separately excited fields and means or ships, 7

sive to the rolling of the ship for reversing the direction of the field flux of said dynaino, whereby said motor is reversed.

15. In a gyroscopicapparatus for oscillatory bodies, a main gyroscope mounted for precessional movements, power means for governing the precessional movements, an auxiliary gyroscope, means brought into action b the precession thereof for controlling sai power means, and means for varying the. strength of said power means re-- sponsive to precession of said main gyro-- scope. 1

16. In a gyroscopic apparatus for oscilla-- tory bodies, a main gyroscope mounted for precessional movements, power means for governing the precessional movements, an auxiliary gyroscope, a contact borne thereby, amovable member mounted adjacent thereto, a cooperating contact thereon, and a follow-up connection between said member and the main gyroscope, said power means being governed by said contacts.

17. In gyroscopic equipment for shi s, I

the combination with a plurality of stabilizing or rolling gyroscopes, means for normally locking one of said gyroscopes about its precessional axis, and means responsive to precession of another of said gyroscopes beyond a predetermined limit for unlockingv the first mentioned gyroscope.

18. In gyroscopic equipment for ships, the combination with a plurality of stabilizing or rolling roscopes means for controlling the precession of at least one of said gyroscopes and' means responsive to the precession of another of said gyroscopes for governing said other means.

19. In gyroscopic equipment for ships, the

combination with a plurality of stabilizing or rolling yrosco-pes, means for controlling the precession of at least one of said gyroscopes,v and means for bringing said other means into 0 ration at a predetermined in terval aftert e initial roll of the shi 1 20. In gyroscopic eqluipment for s ips, the

combination with a p urality of stabilizing or rolling gyroscopes, means for controlling the precession. of each of said gyroscopes, means responsive to the initial roll for bringing into action at least one of said first means, and means responsive to a further roll for bringing into action another of said first means.

21. The combination with a gyroscopic rotor, of means for driving the same, a precession controlling device, means for actuating said device, said rotor driving means being adapted to-assist in driving said precession device upon a predetermined event.

22. In combination, a stabilizing yroscope, a centralizing device connected t ereto and means controlled by said centralizing device for causing the speed of precession of said gyroscope toward the central position to differ from the speed of precession away from its central position.

23. In combination, a stabilizing gyroscope, a centralizing device and means controlled by said device for causing the speed of precession of said gyroscope toward its central position to differ from the speed of precession away from its central position.

24. The. combination with a gyroscopic rotor, of'means for driving the same, a precession controlling device, means for actuating said device, one of said means being adapted to assist the other of said means upon a predetermined event.

25. In gyroscopic stabilizing apparatus, the combination with a gyroscope and means controlled by the gyroscope itself for causing a variation in the rate of precession of the gyroscope at different points in a precessional cycle..

26. In combination, a stabilizing gyroscope, a control device therefor separate therefrom and responsive to the roll of the ship, a centralizing device controlled by said gyroscope, precession controlling means for said gyroscope, and connections between said devices and said means to maintain the precessional movements of the stabilizing gyroscope substantially equal on each side of its normal or central position.

27. In combination, a gyroscope for ships, means for applying a torque on said gyroscope about its axis of precession, and means controlled by said gyroscope for causing said torque to differ when passin a redetermined point in the precessiona cycl e in one direction from the torque applied as said gyroscope passes said point in the other direction.

28. In combinagion, a gyroscope, means for controlling pr cession of said gyroscope and centralizing means controlled by said gyroscope for controlling said first named means to cause the speed of precession of said gyroscope toward the central position to d ffer from that away from the central position. 7

from, electro-dynamic means for producin a precession effect in said stabilizer, an means for transferring energy from said absorbing means to Sald precession means.

31. In a ship stabilizing apparatus, the dombination with a moving part to be accelerated and retarded during-a rolling cycle, of a fly wheel, means for rotating the same, and means for utilizing the momentum of the fly wheel for accelerating said part.

32. In a ship stabilizing apparatus, the combination with a movable element of means for accelerating and retarding said element during a rolling cycle, a fly wheel mounted on said element, means for normal- 1 rotating the same, and means for utilizing the fi wheel in equalizing the power re-. quire by said first named means throughout a cycle of operation.

33. In a ship stabilizing apparatus, the combination with the stabilizing gyroscope having a. rotor and mounted for precession, of means for accelerating and retarding the precession of said gyroscope during a rolling cycle, means for spinning said rotor, said first and second named means being arranged so that the momentum of the rotor is utilized in accelerating said first named means.

34. The combination with a moving fly wheel of a gyroscopic stabilizer, of electrodynamic means for imparting energy to and absorbing energy from said fly wheel, electric dynamic means for controlling the precession of said stabilizer and cans for transferring energy between sai first and second named means.

35. In a gyroscopic stabilizer, the combination with the rotor, of an electrical system for operating said stabilizer comprising a substantially constant speed motor for spinning said rotor, an electric ower plant for driving said motor, a secon motor for controlling the precession of the roscope driven from said power plant, sai system being adapted to absorb and deliver energy in such a manner as to utilize said rotor to equalize the total'energy of the system.

In testimony whereof I have aflizged my signature.

ELMER A. SPERRY. 

